Rumours that Barcelona legend Xavi had applied to become the next manager of the India national football team shook the world last week, and now the truth about the story has emerged.
Xavi is one of the most respected figures in the world game after a glittering playing career and then a successful stint in the Barcelona dugout.
It came as shock, then, that the 45-year-old Spaniard would want to apply for the job as India boss given that the national team sit 133 in the FIFA Ranking after the departure of Manolo Marquez on 2 July.
“It’s correct that Xavi’s name was there,” director of the Indian football team Subrata Paul was quoted as saying. “The application was emailed to the AIFF.”
The AIFF confirmed that they had received the application but said it had rejected it because of the finances that were involved in the agreement.
Xavi myth busted
It comes as little surprise that the email did not come from Xavi, who has been out of work since leaving Barcelona 12 months ago, but a 19-year-old student who had asked ChatGPT: “Write an email by Xavi Hernandez expressing his interest to coach the Indian football team.”
“I copy pasted a ChatGPT response and mailed it. I didn’t attach a CV or anything but I think they saw the mail,” he told The Telegraph, adding that he created a fake email account, [email protected], to send his application.
I don’t want to comment on how the Indian national football team is run, but this is the email address that fooled them into thinking Xavi had sent them a job application pic.twitter.com/3qoOeONptq
— Robin Bairner (@RBairner) July 27, 2025
Reacting to the news, the AIFF finally released a statement.
“The AIFF received an e-mail furnishing the applications from Spanish coaches Pep Guardiola and Xavi Hernandez. The authenticity of their applications could not be confirmed, and it has since emerged that the e-mail applications were not genuine,” it said.
So there you have it. Despite previous reports, Xavi did not apply for the India job.
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